Sunsets (Hawkfrost X Reader)

Ceremonial Humiliation

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather under the high branch!"

You perked your ears, and stood up with a stretch. Finally, something happened in this camp...

It had been seven sunrises since your assessment, exactly how much time Mudfur  said you'd need to recover, and surely now would be your ceremony- hopefully.

Hawkpaw got up next to you, he and you were still sleeping in the medicine cat's den.
Hawkpaw had recovered sooner than you, but you could tell he was pretending to still be a bit beaten up to stay in the same den; you couldn't blame him, you'd find it a bit scary sleeping all alone in the big apprentice den too.

"Morning." He greeted you, his voice raspy and laced with sleep.

You twitched your whiskers, "...morning."

The two of you walked out of the medicine cat's den, followed shortly by Mothpaw and Mudfur who seated himself next to you in front of his den.

Leopardstar was looking through the crowd of RiverClan cats, her golden eyes seemingly scanning for someone in particular.
She glanced over at your direction, and her ears perked up.

"Mothpaw, Hawkpaw, (Y/N), step forward."

Your eyes lit up, this was it.
The thing you had been waiting for for 14 moons, it was finally here.

You rather jogged forward, and the circle of cats shifted to make place for you and the two siblings.

You looked over at Hawkpaw, his gaze held a slight hinge of emotion, though his mouth was moved into a smile.
You knew he wasn't one to be too expressive anymore, so him smiling told that he was happy as well.

Mothpaw looked different though.
She looked nervous. Almost horrified, a little.
Your mind came back to her wanting to become a medicine cat- was she thinking about that? Warriors could change to medicine cats, right?
...
Your ears flattened a little.

"I, Leopardstar of RiverClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down at these three young apprentices. They've worked hard to understand your ways of a warrior, and they've learnt your noble code over many moons."
She looked down at the three of you, her gaze didn't really show much emotion.

You hoped she was proud though.

"I commend you these cats in return as warriors. (Y/N), do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and to defend your clan, even at the cost of your own life?"

You nodded without hesitation, but with immense amount of determination. "I do."

"Then under the eyes of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. (Y/N), from this moment forward, your name shall be (Y/N). StarClan honors your loyalty and determination."
(Great name change ik)

Her gaze wandered over to Hawkpaw.

"Hawkpaw, do you promise to be a full warrior of RiverClan, to protect your clan, to uphold the warrior code, even at the cost of your own life?"

The brown tabby lifted his head a bit, "I do."

You heard a whisper from the side. You didn't even need to look to know it was Sasha.

Leopardstar gave him an encouraging nod, "...then by the power of StarClan, I hereby give you your warrior name. Hawkpaw, from this moment on you shall be known as Hawkfrost. StarClan honors your intelligence and strength."

Hawkfrost's fur spiked up at his new name, pride, you figured.

You smiled at him as he closed his blue eyes, then looked over at Mothpaw.
She didn't seem to like this.

Leopardstar seemed to notice her discomfort, but she proceeded anyway.

"Mothpaw, do you promise to protect RiverClan, to serve and withhold the warrior code, even at the cost of your own life, as a warrior?"

Mothpaw's golden eyes shifted around.

Why wasn't she answering? You knew she was nervous, but she wouldn't deny this, right?

"I can't." The tabby she-cat meowed.

The cats around you inhaled shocked, and some arguing murmuring started.

"What?" Leopardstar seemed genuinely confused. She looked slightly mad, her eyebrows were furrowed.

"I can't." She repeated with a lowered voice. "I don't want to take lives- I want to save them!"

Mothpaw desperately looked over to Mudfur, he looked rather calm compared to everyone else.
Did he know she'd do this?

"Mudfur told me he wants me as his apprentice. I already sleep in his den, I treat patients- I don't want to be a warrior. I want to heal cats, not harm them."

Leopardstar growled.
"And you've treated cats without permission! StarClan is to decide if you're worthy of the rank, and they clearly have not expressed interest in making you our healer."

Mothpaw flattened her ears.
The voices grew louder.

You looked over at Hawkfrost, who just glared around.

"Mothpaw, from this moment onward you are to stay a warrior apprentice until you have learnt your place to express such nonsense." Leopardstar's voice was cold and hard.
She didn't speak this tone often to you and your clan mates, but when she did it was better to be quiet and just nod.

The clan shortly chanted your new names- yours and Hawkfrost for that matter.
Mothpaw left during the chant, her mouth trembling and fur bristled.
You didn't see where she had went in the crowd, but figured she'd want to be alone anyway.

You took on your ceremonial night vigil right away with Hawkfrost, and the clan had went back to their usual business.

You didn't dare say anything, a bad feeling in your gut prevented you from saying anything, but you weren't supposed to speak on the vigil anyway.

Well, this wasn't how you had expected the ceremony to go.